5th generation mobile connectivity, or simply known as 5G, is slowly but surely shaping up in the country. Huawei knows this, which is why they recently released their second midrange 5G-capable handset, the Huawei Nova 7.
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| Huawei Nova 7 5G Unboxing and In-Depth Hands-on |
Aside from having 5G connectivity, does that Huawei Nova 7 has other compelling features that can attract consumers? Let's all find out in this unboxing and hands-on article!
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PHYSICAL:
The Huawei Nova 7 5G looks similar to that of the Nova 7 SE, but it is more compact and lighter too. It measures 160.6mm x 74.3mm x8mm and weight 180 grams as compared to the 7 SE's 162.3mm x 75mm x 8.6mm and 189 grams. Despite the smaller footprint, it offers a slightly bigger display at 6.53 inches versus the 6.5 inches of its brother.
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| Front |
Speaking of the display, both have punch-hole screens and come with resolutions of 2400 x 1080 pixels, albeit the Nova 7 5G uses OLED capacitive panel rather than an LTPS IPS LCD, which gives it a more punchy and saturated color reproduction. Moreover, having an OLED screen offers less power consumption if users will opt to use the dark mode option. In addition, the Nova 7 fingerprint sensor is under the display, while its SE brother is side-mounted.
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| OLED FHD+ Display |
Flipping the phone over, consumers will be greeted by the waves of shimmering lights and colors — a uniquely designed back panel made from an iconic 3D CMF process. As per Huawei, it is made of glass. However, holding it in person seems to feel it like plastic or glasstic. The 64MP quad-camera is placed at the upper left and look similar to that of the Nova 7 SE, except that the LED flash is housed inside the rectangular frame rather than outside.
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| Back |
Going through the sides, the top has the secondary microphone for noise cancellation and the IR sensor for remotely controlling home appliances; the right side has the volume keys and power button; the bottom holds the loudspeaker, primary microphone, USB Type-C port, and the card tray; the left side has nothing on it.
By the way, the card tray can only support two Nano-SIM cards. It has no slot for a MicroSD card, which simply means the storage is non-expandable. Also, it has no 3.5mm audio jack. The good thing is that Huawei includes a 3.5mm to USB Type-C adapter in the package.
Overall, the phone looks nice, premium, and solid to touch. In fact, it seems more of the Huawei P series than the Nova series.
Huawei Nova 7 5G Unboxing and Hands-on
To learn more about its physical appearance, you may watch the unboxing and hands-on video we prepared above.
SOFTWARE:
The Huawei Nova 7 5G runs on EMUI 10.1 based on Android 10. Yes, it still does not come with Google Mobile Service, so apps related to the search giant are still missing in the scene. However, Huawei Mobile Services and AppGallery are continuously growing and improving as time passes by. And, with their new Petal Search App, it becomes more comfortable and more convenient for users to find, download, and install their favorite apps and games.
Huawei Petal Search
To learn more about how Huawei is improving its software, visit https://consumer.huawei.com/ie/campaign/favourite-apps/.
PERFORMANCE:
The Huawei Nova 7 5G is powered by HiSilicon Kirin 985 chipset, which is based on a 7nm semiconductor process and composed of octa-core processors and octa-core graphics. It is paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, wherein 241.32GB is available upon first boot.
We are did not perform any benchmark with our review unit because, upon checking, the software installed is non-commercial. Meaning, our Nova 7 is an engineering unit, and the software still has lots of bugs.
See Also: Huawei Y6p Review; Affordable All-Rounder
CAMERA:
Huawei is well-known for its phones with great cameras, and the Nova 7 5G offers similar greatness. There are four cameras mounted on its back, composed of a 64MP phase-detection autofocus primary module with f/1.8 aperture, an 8MP PDAF telephoto with 3x optical zoom, another 8MP f/2.4 ultrawide module, and a 2MP dedicated macro shooter.
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| 64MP AI Quad Camera |
In the front, there is a 32MP snapper for taking selfies and video calls, which offers twice as much resolution as the one with the Nova 7 SE.
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| 32MP Front Camera |
In terms of video capability, it can shoot up to 4K resolution, gyro-EIS-assisted 1080p/720p, and 720p slow-mo at 960 fps.
CONNECTIVITY:
As mentioned earlier, the Huawei Nova 7 boasts 5G mobile data connectivity, and it works well in areas where there is already 5G services. We tried it in the Makati area using Globe 5G SIM, and we managed to reach more than 700Mbps of download speed.
Globe 5G Speed Test
You can read Globe 5G Now Available; Experience Speed Like Never Before to learn more about the 5G Speed Test we have done using the Nova 7.
At home, the connection is stable as it has WiFi 802.11ac, which supports both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Other connectivity options are IR Blaster, NFC, USB 2.0 Type-C, and GPS, along with other positioning protocols.
BATTERY:
Like its SE sibling, the Huawei Nova 7 is equipped with a 4,000mAh lithium-polymer battery with 40W fast charging and 5W reverse charging capability. As advertised, it can reach 75% of charge in just 30 minutes.
FINAL WORDS:
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| Huawei Nova 7 5G |
The Huawei Nova 7 5G offers great features inside and out. It boasts a premium body with nice looking aesthetics, sports 64MP AI five cameras, more than capable processing power, a large battery with 40W quick-charging capability, and fast 5G mobile data connectivity.
Huawei Nova 7 5G Specs Philippines:
- Dual Nano-SIM, dual standby, supports 5G connectivity
- 6.53-inch OLED FHD+ (2400 x 1080) capacitive touchscreen display; 20:9 aspect ratio
- Dimensions: 160.6mm x 74.3mm x 8mm
- Weight: 180 grams
- EMUI 10.0.1 based on Android 10 with Huawei Mobile Services, AppGallery
- 2.58GHz 64-bit octa-core CPU, ARM Mali-G77 MP8 GPU w/ GPU Turbo, HiSilicon Kirin 985 5G chipset, 7nm semiconductor process
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB internal storage, non-expandable
- 64MP f/1.8 + 8MP f/2.4 120-degree ultra-wide + 8MP f/2.4 telephoto (3x optical) + 2MP 4cm macro quad rear cameras, 4K video recording at 30fps, 720p slo-mo at 960fps
- 32MP f/2.2 front camera, 4K video recording
- Multimedia Player
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
- Bluetooth v5.1
- NFC
- USB Type-C with OTG function
- GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS
- Sensors: fingerprint (under-display), accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound
- Battery: 4,000mAh non-removable, support 40W Huawei SuperCharge
- Colors: Space Silver, Midsummer Purple
- Price: Php23,990